Zemgus Girgensons and Ryan O’Reilly are off to good starts for their respective teams at the World Championship.
By Jourdon LaBarber / Sabres.com
It’s been a strong start for the Buffalo Sabres at the IIHF World Championship, which got underway last Friday in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France. In fact, through two games, only two teams remain undefeated in regulation: Zemgus Girgensons and Latvia and Ryan O’Reilly and Canada.
Girgensons scored a goal and an assist and was named Player of the Game in Latvia’s 3-1 win over Slovakia on Sunday. Having opened the tournament with a win over Denmark on Saturday, the Latvians sit all alone atop the Group A standings with victories against two teams that were placed ahead of them in the pretournament world ranking.
The hot start marks the first time that Latvia has won its first two games since joining the top group for the World Championship in 1997.
Canada, on the other hand, has a history of success at the event. Ryan O’Reilly and the Canadians are looking to become the first team to win three straight gold medals since the Czech Republic in 2001, and they already have a one-point lead on Switzerland atop the Group B standings.
It was O’Reilly who scored the first goal of the tournament for Canada in their 4-1 win over the Czech Republic on Friday, and they followed that up with a 7-2 win over Slovenia on Sunday. The Canadians’ plus-8 goal differential is second only to Russia (plus-10).
Jack Eichel and Team USA began their tournament with a hiccup, falling 2-1 to Germany on Friday, but rebounded with a 7-2 win over Denmark on Sunday. Eichel hasn’t recorded a point in the tournament, but he leads the team with 13 shots and his average ice time of 19:29 is second only to linemate Johnny Gaudreau (19:49) among USA forwards.
Sabres prospect Cal Petersen has served as the third goalie for Team USA and has not yet dressed for a game.
Here’s the remaining schedule for the preliminary round:
Canada (O’Reilly)
Friday, May 5: Canada 4 – Czech Republic 1
Sunday, May 7: Canada 7 – Slovenia 2
Monday, May 8 vs. Belarus – 10:15 a.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Thursday, May 11 vs. France – 2:15 p.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Saturday, May 13 vs. Switzerland – 2:15 p.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Monday, May 15 vs. Norway – 10:15 a.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Tuesday, May 16 vs. Finland – 2:15 p.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Latvia (Girgensons)
Saturday, May 6: Latvia 3 – Denmark 0
Sunday, May 7: Latvia 3 – Slovakia 1
Tuesday, May 9 vs. Italy – 10:15 a.m.
Thursday, May 11 vs. Sweden – 2:15 p.m.
Saturday, May 13 vs. USA – 10:15 a.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Monday, May 15 vs. Russia – 2:15 p.m. (Live on NHL Network)
Tuesday, May 16 vs. Germany – 2:15 p.m.
USA (Eichel and Petersen)
Friday, May 5: Germany 2 – USA 1
Sunday, May 7: USA 7 – Denmark 2
Monday, May 8 vs. Sweden – 2:15 p.m. (Live on NHL Network; tape delay on NBCSN at 11 p.m.)
Wednesday, May 10 vs. Italy – 10:15 a.m. (Live on NBCSN)
Saturday, May 13 vs. Latvia – 6:15 a.m. (Live on NHL Network; tape delay on NBCSN at 10:30 p.m.)
Sunday, May 14 vs. Slovakia – 10:15 a.m. (Live on NHL Network; tape delay on NBCSN at 12 a.m.)
Tuesday, May 16 vs. Russia – 10:15 a.m. (Live on NBCSN)
*All of Team USA’s games, as well as all knockout-round games, can be seen live on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports App.